Warcraft: Remnants of the Scarlet Crusade
by Soulzityr
Summary: An old enemy returned, Colton must take arms once again to reunite the scattered Scarlet Crusade, and once again fight an enemy so powerful that the Alliance alone cannot defeat him.


"Hey, Kaila, over here!" Kaila, a 12-year old young girl with her hair tied in braids, climbed down the mossy rocks in the damp forest towards the voice, the voice of her friend Jeremy. They had only just found a dark cave near the eastern edge of the forest. Stopping for a moment, young Kaila turned back towards the east, towards their home village where they have come from. "Kaila, look over here." The voice persisted and snapped Kaila back to the present, and she slid down the rocks towards her friend.

From the rocky exterior there was a small hole that gave way into a small room like a cave. A young boy, only a year older than Kaila, was squatting at the wall of the rocky surface, and on it was sketched a strange symbol. It was a sort of square with a diagonal slash through it, and at the end of each point on the diagonal was another line that connected together to form a triangle, and it caused much interest from Jeremy. Kaila went over and squatted near him. "What is it?" she whispered in awe, running her hand over the peculiar symbol. "Who knows?" Jeremy stated matter-of-factly. "Maybe they're ancient carvings of lost civilizations. Or maybe they're just something some other guy drew when he stayed here while it rained." Jeremy got up and began to scout the other walls for such carvings. Kaila stayed where she was, and continued to pass her hand over the chalky design. It felt smooth, and unusually cool. "Man, it's dark in here." Jeremy climbed the rocks back outside, and suddenly yelled back. "Kaila, Kaila!"

Kaila snapped from the hypnotism of the sign, and started climbing up the rocks until she stood next to Jeremy. Then she gasped. A blazing trail had ignited through the trees, and the village was clearly visible. Kaila felt her eyes becoming heavy and the world becoming dark, and her legs gave away under her. Jeremy caught her with both of his arms, and saw her impassive face, and realized with silent shock that she had fainted. He stared back to the village. Distant screams could be heard, and he could see flying darts going into the village and back out. All he knew was, he and Kaila could never return. They had lost their family, they had lost their friends, and they had lost their home.

Three hard knocks sounded at the wooden door, and it creaked under the pressure. Colton sighed. He sat in his old furnished sofa near the fireplace, one of the three sofas forming a square with the fireplace as one of the sides, and he was drinking coffee from one of his small cups. A large rug connected the sofas and stretched to near the fireplace, square patterned designs etched into the ground.

Colton got up, and set down his coffee on a nearby table. He crossed the small room to the door, and opened it. Promptly before him was a tall woman with elegant features. She wore a white robe with her hood over her. The snow was beating down on her, and she grabbed her robe closer to her tighter. Her long blonde hair trickled out from underneath the hood, and her green eyes shown with chrysalis-like passion, gazing deeply into Colton's eyes. She had a large staff strapped to her back, and on the top end was a large red crystal that reflected Colton's face back to him. "Oh, bloody hell." Colton sighed, and rammed the door shut. He turned to go back to his coffee and stopped, and shook his head. He sighed, turned back, and opened the door. The woman still stood there, a slight smile on her features. "Come on in, Eyre." Colton left the door opened and walked back to his seat and coffee. Eyre walked in, bending over so her staff could fit in. "Greetings, Colton. It certainly has been a while."

"Bah, whatever. What do you want?" Colton grabbed at his coffee and began drinking incessantly. "Whatever it is, make it quick. I'm busy."

Eyre eyed the finished swords hanging at the side of his wall, and a small counter, which served as a front desk for shopping, and the door behind it, which led to a large blacksmith. "I see you're making quite the simple living, Colton."

Colton waved the empty cup. "Well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. So what about you? What brings you to this small village, and to me?"

Eyre turned around to face him, her flourished robes gathered around her. "Shal'tak is on the march." Colton dropped the cup in utter surprise, and Eyre caught it for him. "He has been reborn, and we need the remnants of the Scarlet Crusade to gather."

Colton grabbed the table with his sturdy hand for support. "You can't be serious."

"I am. He has already scoured many villages for an undead army. It is currently a twentieth of its former size, and it is continuing to grow at an exponential rate."

Colton's eyes defocused from his former comrade-in-arms as he began speculating. "If what you say is true, then it will be much harder this time around. The Scarlet Crusade has been abolished many a year ago. If he's back, it will be tough to find the members, and tougher still to defeat him, especially with our current situation against the Horde."

"It is a rumor that the Blood Elves seek an alliance with the Horde as well." Eyre added. "If it is true, then we have a difficult time on our hands if Illidan returns." Colton cursed. "We have no choice then, but to rebuild the Scarlet Crusade."

"Yes." Eyre agreed. "I already have some information about current members of the Crusade. Three members can be found to the east of here, in a small village named Strays. Continue forward until you find Goldshire, and from there I have no records of any members."

"And you?"

"I will be scouting to the West, towards Loch Modan to the end. From there, I will search." Eyre began walking out of the house, before turning back for a final comment. "It is good to see you again, Colton."

Colton gave a brisk laugh. "Yeah, it's been a long time." Silence filled the air between them. "See you within a week's time, at our old place in Stormwind." Eyre finished, and she exited the cabin. Colton sighed. War had scarred him, and he was tired. Now he must take arms again. With a final sigh, he went to his fireplace and threw some water from his jug nearby to quench the fire and then reached aside to push the bricks out of place, revealing a small storage where you could see a large sword at the end. It was time, again, to fight.


End file.
